Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Price Target Increased to $103.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) had its price target lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $101.00 to $103.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet raised shares of Northern Trust from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an underweight rating and issued a $86.00 target price (up previously from $82.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $93.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northern Trust has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $84.92.

Northern Trust Price Performance

Shares of NTRS opened at $81.41 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.23 and a 200 day moving average of $78.84. Northern Trust has a twelve month low of $62.44 and a twelve month high of $89.25.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The asset manager reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.33 by ($0.81). The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 7.59% and a return on equity of 12.57%. Northern Trust’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northern Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven L. Fradkin sold 30,392 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $2,434,703.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 55,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,687.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTRS. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Northern Trust by 10,566.7% during the 4th quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management now owns 320 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Northern Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 361 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 359 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Northern Trust by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.